Refugees, Security and the European Union

Referent: Prof. Dr. Christian Kaunert (University of Dundee)

Vortragssprache: Englisch

The main aim of this lecture is to analyze the extent and the modalities of the securitiza-tion of asylum-seekers and refugees in the European Union (EU). There is a commonly held view in the existing literature that migrants and asylum-seekers have been securit-ized in the EU, that is, have been socially constructed as security threats. This lecture puts forward a more nuanced argument by analytically distinguishing the asylum policy of the EU from its policies on migrants and border controls on the basis of the literature on ‘venue-shopping’ and policy venues. It also makes a distinction between the EU asylum policy and the EU’s policy towards asylum-seekers and refugees.